Students of Universiti Selangor (Unisel) have been asked to register on August 27 as Unisel decided on it in a meeting yesterday after the issue of hostel accommodation for students of the state-owned university flared up.

Unisel vice-chancellor Anuar Ahmad said the directive was made after the university took the view that it would save the transport cost of students from Sabah and Sarawak if they celebrate the Hari Raya before starting their studies.

Unisel students should have registered today.

Apart from that, he said it was waiting for an arbitration on the issue of debt recovery between Unisel, the Selangor government and Syarikat Jana Niaga Sdn Bhd (JNSB) which was responsible for the development and management of student accommodation at the university's main campus in Bestari Jaya, Kuala Selangor.

"I cannot comment further as it is in the process of arbitration and we have sent a letter to the state government today to expedite the matter as the first letter had been sent three months ago to resolve the issue.

"The issue of outstanding debt with JNSB had prolonged after JNSB decided to sue Unisel and refused to cooperate in the evaluation of the cost imposed on Unisel," he said at a press conference in Shah Alam today.

Asked if Unisel could guarantee the students of entering their hostels after registration on August 27, Anuar said the matter depended on the arbitration process held with JNSB.

He said Unisel was also in the process of applying for an injunction to prevent JNSB from disallowing Unisel students from entering their hostels.

Sudden change of registration date

Meanwhile, a student who declined to be identified said the action of Unisel in the sudden change of registration date had burdened them as there were students who had arrived from far away since yesterday.

"We were only informed of the new registration date (August 27) in a circular issued today when some of us have arrived since yesterday," he said.

NONE Yesterday, several Unisel students faced the problem of accommodation following Unisel's college residence management's refusal to allow them to occupy the hostel after registration.

Unisel Student Representative Council president Mohd Jeffri Abu Hassan said the council was not informed of the matter officially by Unisel management and only got to know verbally from several parties concerned.

It was reported earlier that Barisan Nasional (BN) deputy chairperson Noh Omar claimed that Unisel owed JNSB almost RM15 million.

The debt includes outstanding payment for the main campus maintainance cost and the university's hostel operations.

Asked on the allegation that the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans had been deducted by Unisel, Anuar said it was the result of a technical error and only involved a small number of students.

"To date, only two persons complained to me and I have met the treasurer and their money would be returned to them soon," he said.

Buildings without certificate of fitness

Commenting on the accommodation building bought by Unisel in Kota Puteri, Ijok, Anuar said it was used early this year for the 'fast track' programme of tahfiz students who continued their studies to diploma level.

He said the building was also used for the accommodation of Unisel staff.

Meanwhile, an arbitration panel headed by Selangor state secretary Muhammad Khusrin Munawi had been directed to resolve the problem between Unisel and JNSB.

Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said the panel would hear views from both sides to resolve the accommodation problem of Unisel students at the main campus in Bestari Jaya following Unisel's debt problem with JNSB.

Apart from that, JNSB also faced problem with Unisel as the hostels on a built-operate-transfer (BOT) concept were found to be incomplete and one of the buildings was still without a certificate of fitness (CF).

Khalid told reporters this after chairing a state executive council meeting in Shah Alam today.

"As such, Unisel stopped payment for the construction of the building without CF and only paid rental for occupying the building to JNSB," he said.

- Bernama